Chinese top guns killed in fighter crash

Two air force pilots were killed when their Russian-made Su-27 fighter crashed during a training mission.

The move is an attempt to stop China being reliant on Western softwarePhoto: REUTERS

Our Foreign Staff

12:01PM BST 01 Apr 2013

The Defence ministry said the plane went down on a beach near the coastal city of Rongcheng in the northern province of Shandong. It did not offer any reason for Sunday afternoon's crash and said there were no reports of damage or injuries to people on the ground.

China began purchasing Su-27s in the early 1990s and many of the planes are near the end of their expected lifespans. China also manufactured a copy of the plane. The secretive People's Liberation Army and its air force have overhauled their training in recent years to make exercises more realistic, and details about accidents are rarely released.

Separately the Xinhua News Agency said an explosion at the Xinyu Group Iron Works destroyed its 100-ton No. 2 furnace killed four people and left 32 injured.

It said the injured were transported to hospital but gave no word on the cause of the accident.

China has struggled to boost workplace safety in recent years amid the pressures of rapid economic growth.

Tougher enforcement of safety rules has brought major improvements in areas such as coal mining, while companies have also been forced to improve conditions to attract workers amid a tightening labor market.